Every third citizen is thinking of leaving North Macedonia

Every third citizen or 35,2 percent is considering leaving Macedonia, according to a public opinion poll conducted by the Institute for Political Research in Skopje.

The greatest interest in moving abroad is shown by the age group from 30 to 50 with higher education, with every second person wanting to seek their happiness outside of Macedonia, detailed analysis of the figures shows.

It is reported that 15.9 percent say that the reason they want to move is salaries, followed by those who say the reason is better opportunities for children, better healthcare, education and better infrastructure.

According to the survey, the first choice for destination is Germany, chosen by 11,8 percent of respondents, Switzerland by 6,9 percent and Slovenia by 5,2 percent. Scandinavian countries and the United States are the choices of just over three percent of respondents.

10 percent of respondents said they would definitely leave the country in the next 5 years.

A large number of respondents, up to 64.9 percent, say they have a loved one who has already moved abroad. 70 percent of respondents believe that compared to the period 5 years ago, the level of emigration is increasing.

The Detector research was conducted by IPIS with a telephone survey conducted from January 24 to 26 of this year on a representative sample of 1033 respondents from across the country.